Venetian blind



July 28, 1931. LE ROY .1. STEFFEN VENETIAN BLIND Filed Sept. 24, 1930 2Sheets-Sheet l H H n n y 1931. LE ROY J. STEFFEN 1,816,500

VENETIAN BLIND Filed Sept. 24, 1950 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Patented July 28,1931 UNITED ST-ATES PATENT? OFFICE LE ROY J'. STEFFEN, OF EVANSTON,ILLINOIS, ASSIGNORUIO ROUGH SHADE COI RLPORA- 'IION, A CORPORATION OFCONNECTICUT VlENETIAN BLIND Application filed September 24, 1930. SerialNo. 484,135.

This invention relates to Venetian blinds and has for its principalobjects to make more easy the raising and lowering of the These andother objects and advantages will become apparent as the disclosureproceeds and the description isread in conjunction with the accompanyingdrawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of the device;

Fig. 2 is an end elevation on the line 2-2 as shown;

Fig. 3 is a detail plan view showing the raceways and one of the slats;

Fig. 4 is a sectional elevation of the upper portion of the Venetianblind on the line 4-4 as indicated on Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is an elevation of the intermediate supporting fixture;

Fig. 6 is a sectional end view of the locking means holding the blind inposition; and

Fig. 7 is an exploded view showing a portion of the raceway, swingboard, operating tape and blind slats in their proper assembledrelationship.

Ordinarily the hoisting and lowering of the Venetian blind isaccomplished by means of cords attached to the lower swing board whichpass through slots in each slat and over pulleys which may be attachedeither to the head rail or the upper swing board. When the cords arepulled the lower swing board is raised carrying with it the numerousslats which pile up on top of the board as it approaches the top of thewindow. The slats are held in place by ladder tapes which space themproperly when the blind is extended.

When the window or other opening is large, the weight of the lower swingboard and the slats is great enough to require considerable efiort inraising the blind. It has been proposed to hang a Windlass between thehead rail and the upper swing board so thatpthe raisingand loweringcould be ac complished with less physical efi'ort. The function of theswing board requiresthat it shall be free to swing about its axis.Therefore a gap must be left between the swing board and the Windlasswhich corresponds to the radius of the board. The winch,.to be effectivefor raising and lowering the heavy blind, must have considerabledlameter and consequently this suggested arrangement requiresconsiderable space.

Such an arrangement of head rail, windlass and swing board cannot becompressed into a distance of much less than eight inches and, .sincethese permanent portions of a Veneitan blind out 01f the top light of aroom, it is of great advantage to reduce the space required.

The fact that the swing board is rotated about its axis means that thegap between the swing board and the Windlass changes in its width. Thismay be objectionable, particularly if the sun is intense. v

Usually also the slats and the lower swing boardare not attached to thesides of the window frame but hang freely. lYhe-n this is so, the blindis free to swing and bang in any breeze.

By my presentconstruction I am able to materially reduce the headroomrequired for the raising and lowering apparatus to prevent theobjectionable gap between the head rail and upper swing board.

In Fig. 1, in which theblind is shown mounted in a window or otherframed opening generally indicated by 10, the blind is hung from a headrail 11 by means of the hangers 12 and 13 and, if necessary, by theintermediate supporting fixture 14. The upper swing board 15 has aconvex upper surface 16 and a plane lower surface 17. A longitudinalslot 18, Fig. 4, extends across the lower surface. The longitudinalshaft 19 is maintained within this slot by the bearing fixtures 20 and21 which, themselves,

ass through the hangers 12 and 13 and orm trunnions anound which theswing board may rotate.

It is desirable that the shaft 19 be placed in the approximate center ofthe are formed shown in section in Fig. 3. v

comprise a roughly C-shaped section ofby the surface 16510 that the gap22, between the swing board and the head rail, is as nar-, row aspossible and is always maintalned 1 at a constant width.

A flanged two-step cone pulley 23 is attached to the shaft 18 beyond thesupport 13. Similarly a single flange pulley 24 is and the lower swingboards by any convenient means. u

Rigidly attached to each side of the window frame are metal raceways 28and 29 The raceways metal which has a re-entrant lip 31 parallel to thewalls of the raceway and extending toward but spaced apart from the rearwall.

A slotted track 32 is thus formed between the lip and one of the wallswhich engages projections extending from the slats and a special fixtureattached to the lower swing board. It will be noticed that a channel 33is formed between the lip and the wall of the raceway in which thehoisting tapes 3434 are placed. The track forms a guide for the slatsand lower swing board and holds them in such a manner that swinging andbanging is obviated.

The swing board is tilted by means of a cord attached to its under sidein such a way that a direct pull may be applied to the edge of the swingboard. The cord is looped about pulley 35 fastened to the head rail. Thepull on the cord 36 will cause the swing board and slats to rotateupwardly and deflect the light and air toward the ceiling,

while the pull on the cord 37 will cause the swing board and slats torotatexdownwardly to deflect the light and air against the floor or shutthem out entirely.

The ease with which the blind may be manipulated depends upon thedifference in size between the drum 38 and the drum 25 of the pulley 23.This difference should be chosen with regard to the weight to be raised.The hoisting tapes 34, 34 are wound on the drum 25 and the pulley 24 inthe same direction.

will be maintained within the channel 33 The operating tape 39 is woundupon the drum 38 in the opposite direction.

and when so placed they cannot be caught or tangled on the ends of theslats.

vAlso, as indicated in Fig. 7, the blind slats, 46 are cut back orrelieved in such a manner that a projecting tongue 47 is left about theaxis of the slats, the tongues of such a width that the slat is free torotate within the track 32.

It is, of course, understood that integral projections on the blindslats .may be replaced by a small metal cap bearing an articulating studor other means to cause the The tongues are preferred for they may beconveniently and cheaply formed.

The dotted position of one slat 48 shown on Fig. 1 indicates the methodof assembly of the slats and lower swing board within the raceways.

and slats may then be pushed into position.

and lowered with their ends held within the slotted track.

The blind is partially lowered and the projections on the'slats and the.

slat to be held in position by the raceways.-

When the blind is wide the weight becomes so great that it is desirableto support the upper swing board at an intermediate point or points. Insuch a case the fixture 14, illustrated in Fig. 5, may be used.Preferably the fixture consists of an axle support 49 which carries anupstanding lug 51 bored to receive the axle.

A curved band 52 of L-section-encircles but does not touch the convexperiphery of the upper swing board. Its ends 535 3' engage and arefastened to the axle support 51. A small angle bracket 54 is fastened tothe head rail. This carries a stud 55 extending at right angles to thebracket which engages and supports the under side of the band 52.

For convenience in assembly and disas sembly, it is preferable to havebut one angle bracket, but where the weights become excessive twoopposed brackets 54 may be used which are then connected by the stud 49.

-In this case it is also helpful to place a roller on this stud.

The locking means by which the blind may be fastened at any intermediatepor- 't1on is shown in Fig. 6.- This consists of an L-shaped extension56 of the support 13 which bears a box-like enclosure 57 at its end.Pivoted within the box is an eccentric dog 58 so hung that normally itswings free of the operating tape 39. When, however, it is wished tolock the blind the tape 39 is pulled angularly so that it is wrappedaround a portion of the periphery of the dog. The weight of the blindthen causes the tape to be wound up. The tape carries the dog upwardsand itis then jammed between the dog and the near wall 59 of the boxwhich forms a cooperating shoe.

As explained, the blind may be easily raised since the effort requiredis regulated by the difference in the size of the two drums of pulley23. The blind must always hang evenly since a pull on the operating tape39 is translated into two equal motions of the tapes 3434 at theopposite sides of the swing board and, since the parts of the blinds areengaged by the track, it cannot swing or bang.

I claim as my invention:

1. In a device of the class described, a head rail an upper swing boardhinged to the rail, a shaft extending longitudinally along the swingboard and ournalled thereon, and a plurality of hoisting drums mountedon the shaft beyond the extent of the swing board and operativelyconnected to the lower swing board.

2. In a device of the class described, a head rail, an upper swing boardhinged thereto at its ends, means for supporting the swing board fromthe rail at an intermediate position including a spaced strap, ahoisting mechanism supported by the swing board and journalled thereon,a plurality of slats and a lower swing board flexibly supported from theupper swing board, and a connection between the hoisting mechanism andthe lower swing board whereby the blind is raised and lowered.

3. In a Venetian blind,.a head rail, an upper swing board hingedthereto, a plurality of slats and the lower swing board flexiblysupported from the upper swing board, a pair of raceways having aslotted track and a channel therein, the ends of the slats and the endsof the lower swing board slidably maintained within the slot, hoistingmeans journalled in the upper swing board, and a hoisting tapemaintained within the channel connecting the hoisting means and thelower swing board.

4:. A raceway for Venetian blinds having a re-entrant lip for engagingblind members between the lip and the opposite wall, and a channelbetween the lip and the near wall wherein operating means for the blindmay be located.

5. In a Venetian blind, an upper swing board, a lower swing board, aplurality of flexibly supported slats therebetween, a raceway having are-entrant lip parallel to a side wall extending towards but spacedapart from the rear wall of said raceway, support means extendingthrough the space between the lip and the rear wall operativelyconnected to the lower swing board, and flexible operating meansconnected to said support maintained within the space between the lipand the nearer side wall.

6. A Venetian blind having an upper swing board, a lower swing board, aplurality of slats flexibly supported therebe tween, said slats and thelower swing board having a projection extending axially from their ends,a sheet metal raceway afiixed in the opening to be closed having are-entrant lip engaging the axial projection of blind members betweenthe lip and the opposite wall, a channel between the lip and the nearwall, and means to raise and lower the blind maintained within thechannel.

7. In a Venetian blind, a head rail, brackets attached to the rail, aswing board journalled at its ends in the brackets, an intermediatelylocated supporting fixture comprising a lower strap in contact with thelower face and sides of the swing board, an upper strap attached at itsends to the lower strap and swing board and spaced apart from the uppersurface thereof, a bracket attached to the head rail engaging the upperstrap, an upstanding web on the lower strap, and an aperture through theweb forming a journal for a longitudinal hoisting shaft carried by theswingboard.

8. In a Venetian blind, a head rail, a support attached to the headrail, an upper swing board, a bearing attached to the swing board, alongitudinal shaft'maintained in the bearing and a portion of thebearing journalled in the support and forming a trunnion for the swingboard.

9. In a Venetian blind, an upper swing I board, a lower swing board, aplurality of slats, flexible members supporting the slats and the lowerswing board from the upper swing board, a raceway at the ends of theslats and swing boards, said raceway comprising a slotted track and achannel, a swivelled elongated shoe at each end of the lower swing boardslidably engaging the adjacent slotted track, an arm attached to eachshoe and offset therefrom engaging the adjacent channel, and meansattached to said arms for raising and lowering the blind.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

ture.

LE ROY J. STEFFEN.

